135 Best Sights in The Cyclades, Greece

This is one of the most popular beaches on the island due to its close proximity to Naxos Town and its long stretch of pure, fine white sand. It features a small leeward harbor with a unique view of small lagoons where herons find refuge. Its position protects it from island winds, so swimming is a calm experience that you don't always find on neighboring beaches. The small village surrounding it is lined with tavernas and cafés. Nudity is allowed in designated areas. Amenities: food and drink. Best for: nudists; swimming; walking.

Founded in 1870, the Koutsoyannopoulos Winery offers a tour of its old facility, now a multiroom museum that is picturesque, authentic, and mostly underground. Tools, techniques, and the original business office are from a world long gone—but the wines, as the ensuing tasting proves, are contemporary and refined. The Wine Spectator rated their Assyrtiko among the world's top 100 whites. To add your own kudos, note that this admired winery is open year-round.

At the highest point on Pirgos hill, the Museum of Marble Crafts is a strikingly modern building where exhibits show the process of quarrying and carving the world famous stone. The tools and techniques are described in detail, as are the social and economic contexts in which the craft developed. The master artists' drawings for altarpieces and tomb sculptures are also on display, as are some of their works.

A bewildering maze of twisting cobblestone streets, arched porticoes, and towering doorways, the Old Town plunges you alternatively into cool darkness and then suddenly into pockets of dazzling sunshine. The Old Town is divided into the lower section, Bourgos, where the Greeks lived during Venetian times, and the upper part, called Kastro (castle), still inhabited by the Venetian Catholic nobility.

The square above the port, to the northwest, was built to celebrate the church's 1,700th anniversary. From there note a white wall with two belfries, the front of the former monastic quarters that surround the magnificent Panagia Ekatontapyliani, the earliest remaining proto-Byzantine church in Greece and one of the oldest unaltered churches in the world. As such, it is a renowned pilgrimage church of the Aegean, second only to Megalochari on nearby Tinos.

The story began in 326, when St. Helen—the mother of Emperor Constantine the Great—set out on a ship for the Holy Land to find the True Cross. Stopping on Paros, she had a vision of success and vowed to build a church there. Though she died before it was built, her son built the church in 328 as a wooden-roof basilica. Two centuries later, Justinian the Great (who ruled the Byzantine Empire in 527–65) commissioned the splendid dome.

According to legend, 99 doors have been found in the church and the 100th will be discovered only after Constantinople is Greek again—but the name is actually older than the legend. Inside, the subdued light mixes with the dun, reddish, and green tufa (porous volcanic rock). The columns are classical and their capitals Byzantine. At the corners of the dome are two fading Byzantine frescoes depicting six-winged seraphim. The 4th-century iconostasis (with ornate later additions) is divided into five frames by marble columns. One panel contains the 14th-century icon of the Virgin, with a silver covering from 1777. The Virgin is carried in procession on the church's crowded feast day, August 15, the Dormition. During Easter services, thousands of rose petals are dropped from the dome upon the singing celebrant. The adjacent Baptistery, nearly unique in Greece, also built from the 4th to the 6th century, has a marble font and bits of mosaic floor. The church museum, at the right, contains post-Byzantine icons.

The Tinians built the splended Church of the Annunciate Virgin on this site in 1823 to commemorate finding a buried icon of the Annunciation in the foundations of an old Byzantine church that once stood here. Imposing and beautiful, framed in gleaming yellow and white, it stands atop the town's main hill ("hora"), which is linked to the harbor via Megalochari, a steeply inclined avenue lined with votive shops. Half Venetian, half Cypriot in style, the facade (illuminated at night) has a distinctive two-story arcade and bookend staircases. Lined with the most costly stones from Tinos, Paros, and Delos, the church's marble courtyards (note the green-veined Tinian stone) are paved with pebble mosaics and surrounded by offices, chapels, a health station, and seven museums. Inside the upper three-aisle church dozens of beeswax candles and precious tin- and silver-work votives—don't miss the golden orange tree near the door donated by a blind man who was granted sight—dazzle the eye. You must often wait in line to see the little icon, encrusted with jewels, which is said to have curative powers. To beseech the icon's aid, a sick person sends a young female relative or a mother brings her sick infant. As the pilgrim descends from the boat, she falls to her knees, with traffic indifferently whizzing about her, and crawls painfully up the faded red padded lane on the main street—1 km (½ mile)—to the church. In the church's courtyards, she and her family camp for several days, praying to the magical icon for a cure, which sometimes comes. This procedure is very similar to the ancient one observed in Tinos's temple of Poseidon. The lower church, called the Evresis, celebrates the finding of the icon; in one room a baptismal font is filled with silver and gold votives. The chapel to the left commemorates the torpedoing by the Italians, on Dormition Day, 1940, of the Greek ship Helle; in the early stages of the war, the roused Greeks amazingly overpowered the Italians.

The reason that many people visit Milos, Sarakiniko is the eerily sculpted inlet whose bone-white rocks lie in the sea like vast Henry Moore abstract forms. The limestone and diatomite moonscape was on the seabed 2 million years ago and fish and shell fossils can often be seen in the rocks. Try to get there before 7 am as the sunrise is spectacular and you will be largely alone. Explore the right-hand side before settling down on the left for sunbathing, swimming, and cliff diving—past the cliffs on the right is a shipwreck half-submerged in the sea, and there are abandoned mine tunnels to explore. Beware though, there is no shade and the light reflecting from the white rocks is mesmerizing and intense. There is parking at the top that also serves as the bus stop. Amenities: parking. Best For: sunrise; sunset.

The unusual 13th-century "double church" of St. John exemplifies Venetian tolerance. On the left side is the Catholic chapel, on the right the Orthodox church, separated only by a double arch. A family lives in the tower, and the church is often open. From here, take a moment to gaze across the peaceful fields to Chora and imagine what the islanders must have felt when they saw pirate ships on the horizon.

Considered one of Syros's most beautiful beaches, Agathopes gets packed in peak season due to its shallow waters and fine sand. If you're there at the right time, you'll find a unique small islet where white sea lilies blossom. The sea view is also dotted with the uninhabited islands called Schinonissi and Stroggilo. Beachgoers can rent lounge chairs and umbrellas, and there's a local taverna within walking distance. Amenities: food and drink. Best for: swimming.

The first monument you'll see, on the left from the harbor, is the Agora of the Competialists (circa 150 BC). The competialists were members of Roman guilds, mostly freedmen and slaves from Sicily who worked for Italian traders. They worshipped the Lares Competales, the Roman "crossroads" gods; in Greek they were known as Hermaistai, after the god Hermes, protector of merchants and the crossroads.

Agrari is a low-key beach with yellow pebble sand flanked by a low hill of small whitewashed buildings to the left and a rocky island hill to the right. Umbrellas and sun beds are available for rent. You can grab a snack, drinks, or a full meal at the beach’s own bar and restaurant, but there are more options just a walk away. Boats leave from Platis Gialos and Ornos Bay. It’s also walkable via a footpath from neighboring Elia Beach, attracting nudists who stay in certain areas. Driving east from Mykonos Town, watch out for a stunning view of the turquoise blue as you make that final turn to the beach.Amenities: food and drink; water sports. Best for: swimming.

Beyond the path that leads to the southern part of the island is this ancient theater, built in the early 3rd century BC. It once sat 5,500 people. Close by was the elegant residential quarter inhabited by Roman bankers and Egyptian and Phoenician merchants. Their one- and two-story houses were typically built around a central courtyard, sometimes with columns on all sides. Floor mosaics of snakes, panthers, birds, dolphins, and Dionysus channeled rainwater into cisterns below; the best-preserved can be seen in the House of the Dolphins, the House of the Masks, and the House of the Trident.

Built in 1864 as a small-scale version of Milan’s La Scala, the Apollo Theater is another example of Syros's wealth. Severely damaged during WWII, the theater was finally restored and reopened in 2000. Today, operas and other cultural events fill the summer schedule, including the world famous Festival of the Aegean, which takes place every July.

A very small Archaeological Museum, established by a local mathematician, Michael Bardanis, displays Cycladic finds, including statues and earthen pots dug up from the east coast. The most important of the exhibits are unique dark gray marble plaques from the 3rd millennium BC with roughly hammered scenes of daily life: hunters, farmers, and sailors going about their business.

Syros's Archaeological Museum is located on the left side of the town hall. The small space features artifacts from the island’s rich history. The collection stretches back to the Neolithic era and includes artifacts taken from the prehistoric acropolis at Kastri to the north. Particularly illustrious are the Early Cycladic objects from Chalandriani (just south of Kastri), which indicate an advanced culture in the 3rd millennium BC. The museum, while not extensive, is one of the oldest in Greece.

This museum is on the road south of the Gymnasium. It contains most of the antiquities found during excavations on the island: monumental statues of young men and women, stelae, reliefs, masks, mosaics, and ancient jewelry.

Most visitors, though, come to see the exact copy of the Venus de Milo displayed in the main room. There is a campaign, of course, to see the original statue reunited with her island home but it has so far fallen on deaf ears.

The Archaeological Museum contains a large chunk of the famed Parian chronicle, which recorded cultural events in Greece from about 1500 BC until 260 BC (another chunk is in Oxford's Ashmolean Museum). It interests scholars that the historian inscribed detailed information about artists, poets, and playwrights, completely ignoring wars and shifts in government. Some primitive pieces from the Aegean's oldest settlement, Saliagos (an islet between Paros and Antiparos), are exhibited in the same room, on the left. A small room contains Archaic finds from the ongoing excavation at Despotiko—and they are finding a lot. In the large room to the right rests a marble slab depicting the poet Archilochus in a banquet scene, lying on a couch, his weapons nearby. The ancients ranked Archilochus, who invented iambic meter and wrote the first signed love lyric, second only to Homer. When he died in battle against the Naxians, his conqueror was cursed by the oracle of Apollo for putting to rest one of the faithful servants of the muse. Also there are a monumental Nike and three superb pieces found in the last decade: a waist-down kouros, a gorgon with intact wings, and a dancing-girl relief.

On the main street, near the church, is the small Archaeological Museum; its collection includes a sundial by Andronicus of Cyrrhus, who in the 1st century BC also designed Athens's Tower of the Winds. Here, too, are Tinos's famous huge, red storage vases, from the 8th century BC.

One of the most evocative and recognizable sights of Delos is the 164-foot-long Avenue of the Lions. The five marble beasts, which were carved in Naxos, crouch on their haunches, their forelegs stiffly upright, vigilant guardians of the Sacred Lake. They are the survivors of a line of at least nine lions that were erected in the second half of the 7th century BC by the Naxians. One statue, removed in the 17th century, now guards the Arsenal of Venice (though with a refurbished head); the remaining originals are in the Delos Archaeological Museum on the island.

South of Naxos Town, Ayia Anna is a sandy-smooth extension of Ayios Prokopios Beach. A small port, with connections to Paros, it often has picturesque little boats docked here. At one point considered a main commercial harbor of the island, today it's a popular beach for water sports and those who want to enjoy the simplicity of its turquoise waters. The small village behind it is filled with restaurants, cafés, and beach bars. Beach chair and umbrella rentals are abundant. Amenities: food and drink; water sports. Best for: swimming; walking.

Somewhat hidden in the shadow of Kalafatis Beach, Ayia Anna is a low-key beach, named after a little whitewashed chapel nearby. It’s a place where you can observe windsurfers in the distance as fishing boats bob calmly in the wind-protected waters. Two hills protect the bay—the locals lovingly call them divounia, or Aphrodite’s breasts. Summer beach chair and umbrella rentals are available and there is a handful of tavernas and cafés. There are also two easy hiking paths to neighboring Platis Gialos and Paraga beaches. Amenities: food and drink. Best for: swimming.

This long sandy beach is the closest organized beach to Tinos Town, and it's also the island's largest beach overall. The coastline is marked with natural shade from tamarisk trees, but beach chairs and umbrellas are readily available for rent during the summer. The main road behind the beach has a gathering of beach hotels, rooms, and tavernas. There are also a few beach bars and cafés along its 1½-km (1-mile) stretch. Amenities: food and drink. Best for: swimming; walking.

Essentially an extension of Naxos Town, the easily accessible Ayios Georgios Beach is a popular, developed destination that sees its throng of crowds during the peak summer months. Protected from summer winds, the sandy coastline edges up against shallow waters that make it ideal for kids. The bustle of the main town extends here; restaurants, tavernas, and café bars are all within easy walking distance with views of the sea. It's also an ideal beach scene to take in the sunset. Amenities: food and drink. Best for: sunset; swimming; walking.

Head 11 km (7 miles) south of Antiparos Town to the calm, southeastern beaches of Ayios Georgios. This series of small, fine-sand coves has a view of the uninhabited island of Despotiko. Here, three small fish tavernas sit on the edge of the tiny village road, overlooking the sea. Otherwise, what you see is what you get—a serene untouched landscape. Amenities: food and drink. Best for: solitude; swimming; walking.

Served by the Kolymbithres boat, Ayios Ioannis's golden, sandy beach is peaceful, clean, and quiet. Also known by locals as Monastiri Beach, it is protected by a rocky cove and has a snack bar and numerous amenities. Nice, gently shelving waters are perfect for kids.The blue-domed, whitewashed Ayios Ioannis Monastery sits to the right side of the beach, a short walk away. Amenities: food and drink; showers; toilets; water sports. Best for: swimming.

One of the best places on Mykonos to catch the sunset is the pebble-and-sand beach of Ayios Ioannis. Divided into two sections by large rocks, the waters usually remain calm but the summer winds can take their hold. The shallow bay is popular with families, and dining and lodging options are plenty thanks to the whitewashed beach town that grew around it. The beach is also referred to as Shirley Valentine Beach, because the 1989 British movie of the same name was filmed here.Amenities: food and drink. Best for: sunset; swimming.

Since it's secluded from the summer's temperamental gusty island winds, the sands that fill up the pretty curved beach of Ayios Ioannis Porto Beach stay put. Here you can spend the day under tamarisk trees for natural shade or rent beach chairs and umbrellas during peak season. Its shallow waters and calm nature make it a choice beach for families. Several beach hotels are in close proximity. A few tavernas are nearby for a beach break. Amenities: food and drink. Best for: swimming.

St. Mamas is the protector of shepherds and is regarded as a patron saint in Naxos, Cyprus, and Asia Minor. Built in the 8th century, the stone church was the island's cathedral under the Byzantines. Though it was converted into a Catholic church in 1207, it was neglected under the Venetians and is now falling apart. You can also get to it from the Potamia villages.